Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-227) and index.

Introduction. Parties and transnationalism -- Party, nation-state and beyond: some general considerations -- From the internationals to the transnational party: a historical perspective -- Social democracy : riding the tide of globalisation -- Christian democracy and its allies: identity and the logic of numbers -- Liberals and democrats: in the shadow of the heavyweights? -- The communists and allies: still fighting for change -- Defending the periphery, protecting the environment: the regionalist family and the greens -- Sovereignists, sceptics and populists: as transnational as the rest? -- National parties, party families and their roads to transnationalism; a comparative conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.

"Why do political party families, big and small, without exception, engage increasingly in transnational collaboration, in arenas like the European Parliament and beyond? What do they hope to gain from it, and what might they fear losing? Beyond the Nation State looks behind the usual rhetoric of party families to trace some deep-lying historical processes and patterns. Experiences can vary within and between families but the overall patterns are clear. Based on numerous interviews and studies of national parties, this book shows the parties to be reluctant participants in a process of integration which they may well have to take further, despite their doubts."--BOOK JACKET.